The present invention relates to cleaning devices for cleaning ponds, pools, and other bodies of water.
Bodies of water such as ponds, pools, fountains, and the like will collect debris such as leaves, loose dirt, grit, and the like over time. Heavier debris will tend to sink and collect at the bottom of the pond. Fish ponds also tend to become dirty or polluted over time with particles of food, waste, fish scales and the like.
Various types of devices have been proposed in the past for cleaning bodies of water. Vacuum pump devices are sometimes used to collect debris from the surface of a pool. However, these devices are not able to effectively collect accumulated debris from the bottom of a pool.
Hand operated pumps have been proposed in the past for cleaning pools. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,733 of Tietge et al. describes a cleaning device comprising a tubular member with an open lower end and a piston slidably mounted in the tube for drawing water and debris into the tube through the open lower end. A filter for removing debris from the water drawn into the device is provided in the lower end of the tube. U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,031 of Cellini describes a similar hand operated pump device.
Other pool cleaning devices use suction to draw liquid and debris into the device and then filter the debris from the liquid before returning it to the pool. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,101 of Goble a hollow tubular member is provided which has an aperture at the first end which may be opened or closed to release or trap air in the tubular member, an inlet at the second end, and an exhaust opening near the second end over which a filter is provided for trapping debris. The second end of the tubular member is extended into a body of water with the aperture closed to trap air in the tubular member. Once the second end is positioned close to debris to be removed, the aperture is opened to release the trapped air, and water and debris will be drawn into the tubular member through the inlet by suction. The water passes back out through the exhaust outlet, while any debris will be trapped in the filter. A similar device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,980 of Leginus et al. A water inlet tube has a nozzle end for placing next to debris to be collected, and extends into a water collecting chamber. An aperture is provided at the handle end of the device for opening or closing by the operator as necessary. A filter is provided in the lower end of the water collecting chamber. Water and debris is drawn into the collecting chamber, and water flows back out through the filter when the device is withdrawn from the pool, while debris is trapped on the filter at the lower end of the chamber.
Although these devices are suitable for cleaning bodies of water which do not have very large quantities of debris, if they are applied to fish ponds or other bodies of water having relatively large quantities of debris, the filter quickly becomes clogged. It is then necessary to disassemble the device in order to clean it and remove the debris.